WEEK 2.2 FIND PEACE (JANUARY 8-14TH)
Buddhist monks follow a strict code of conduct that includes dietary restrictions and food traditions. According to the teachings of Buddha, monks are expected to live a simple life and avoid indulging in worldly pleasures. They are not allowed to cook their own food or store food for later use. Instead, they rely on the generosity of others for their daily sustenance.
This practice is known as alms-giving or pindapata.
There once lived a wise Buddhist monk who was receiving his (alms) meal from a stranger in a nearby village. The young man filled up his bowl with warm rice and asked, “Master, how can I find peace in a world that is so chaotic and unpredictable?”
The monk smiled and replied, “My dear child, the world is like a stormy sea. It is full of turbulence and chaos. But if you learn to dive deep within yourself, you will find a place of calm and stillness that is always there.”
The young man was confused and asked, “But how can I find this place of calm within myself?”
The monk replied, “Through mindfulness found in practicing meditation and yoga. In time you can learn to quiet your mind and connect with your inner self. When you do this, you will find that you now own your thoughts, your thoughts no longer own you. The chaos of the world no longer has power over you. You will be able to find peace, liberation and tranquility even in the midst of the storm.”
The young man was inspired by the monk’s words and decided to follow his teachings. He practiced meditation and yoga every day and soon discovered his inner sanctuary of calm and stillness within himself. He found that he was no longer affected by the chaos of the world and was able to live a life of peace and contentment. Like a lotus flower he could rise above the filth and chaos of this world and open, pure and bright.
Remember, my dear friend, that the world will always be full of chaos and unpredictability. But if you learn to dive deep within yourself, you will find a place of calm and stillness that is always there.
“Tone the body, while fine tuning the soul” – David Scott
True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; yoga is to be lived. Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; yoga cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied. – Aadil Palkhivala
“Having lots of money while not having inner peace is like dying of thirst while bathing in the ocean.” ~Paramahansa Yogananda
Designer labels are a sign of weakness and not strength.
In the West, we seem obsessed to protect our image. We chase the illusion that if surround ourselves with enough designer labels, it will obscure the emptiness inside of us. Like window shades, on an empty home, we hope the outside world will not see our true self.
In the Eastern mind, we seek to fill that emptiness with mindfulness first, from the inside out and not the outside in. We give up the illusion of exterior perfection, while practicing acceptance of our true nature. We understand that we could have the most expensive lululemon yoga outfit and the latest designer yoga mat, but it will not help our practice a bit, as the light of yoga shines from the inside out and not the outside in.
“Your journey begins tonight, on the mat right where you are in life at this moment. Not where you were yesterday. Not where you want to be tomorrow, but where you are right now at this moment in your life’s journey.” – David Scott
“Experience the boundaries in your practice tonight. Explore and identify where the restrictions are in your body, your heart and your mind. What is preventing you from going just a little deeper and farther in your practice and life? Let your practice dance on the edges of these limitations, like dew on the tip of a leaf. “ – David Scott
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
when there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand,
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying [to ourselves] that we are born to eternal life.”
― Francis Of Assisi
“Plant the seed of kindness in your heart and it will blossom into peace with those around you.” – David Scott
“Glue your broken pieces back together with self-love and then make peace inside yourself first before trying to find peace in the world.” – David Scott
“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” – Dalai Lama
“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.” – Albert Einstein
“World peace can be achieved when, in each person, the power of love replaces the love of power.” – Sri Chinmoy
“No two leaves are alike, and yet there is no antagonism between them or between the branches on which they grow.” – Mahatma Gandhi We do not need to be the same to still be kind to one another.
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“In this sea of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you and you can live in peace.” – David Scott
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” – Nelson Mandela
“Yoga is about clearing away whatever is in us that prevents our living in the most full and whole way. With yoga, we become aware of how and where we are restricted — in body, mind, and heart — and how gradually to open and release these blockages. As these blockages are cleared, our energy is freed. We start to feel more harmonious, more at one with ourselves. Our lives begin to flow — or we begin to flow more in our lives.” – Cybele Tomlinson
“You can’t enjoy wealth if you’re not in good health. We usually do not value your health until we do not have it anymore.”
Your soul is your best friend. Treat it with care, nurture it with growth, feed it with love. – Ashourina Yalda
“Find your true nature in your practice tonight. Our yoga practice is about uncovering our own pose in each asana, based on what is going on inside us; not simply imitating everyone around us in the room. We spend so much of our lives trying to fit into a world that is different than us and it can be so tiring trying to be someone we are not. Be yourself tonight, Feel and experience your body, mind and soul tonight and practice with all your heart.” – David Scott
The study of asana is not about mastering posture. It’s about using posture to understand and transform yourself. –B.K.S Iyengar
“Happiness is the highest form of health.” – Dalai Lama
“He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.” – Arabian Proverb
“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.” Steve Maraboli
“Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.”
“Even if we disagree about everything, we can still be kind to each other.”
“Kindness is lighting someone else’s torch with your own inner flame.”
“You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” – Mother Teresa
“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” – Mahatma Gandhi
You’re only as young as your spine is flexible. Quality of life is determined by our health.
“Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.” – Buddha
“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” – Buddha
“It is in the quiet moments of your practice, that you prepare yourselves for the exciting and challenging moments.”
Sometimes we must just stand back and let life happen. Don’t hold together what must fall apart. The familiar fades away to create space for the new.
I was looking for someone to inspire me, motivate me, support me, keep me focused… Someone who would love me, cherish me, make me happy, and I realized all along that I was looking for myself.
Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.
Be strong when you are weak, brave when you are scared, gracious when you lose and humble when you are victorious.
“If you stumble, make it part of your dance.”
“May you be firm, but never inflexible; maybe you proud, but never boastful; may you be strong, but never forceful; may you be gentle but never weak; may you be truthful, but never unkind; may you be brave but never foolish; may you have more than enough, but never be greedy. – David Scott
If you feel something calling you to dance or write or paint or sing, please refuse to worry about whether you’re good enough. Just do it. Be generous. Offer a gift to the world no one else can offer: yourself.